A couple of last points

by Glenn Greenwald

Thanks to Digby for asking me to blog here while he was away, and thanks to all of his readers for the lively and provocative comments in response to mine and Julia’s posts. This is the place where one finds what I think is the most consistently superb writing and analysis on the Internet, and I’ve enjoyed blogging here these last few days.

I wanted to bring two final items to your attention:

(1) The nonpartisan and independent Congressional Research Service released a Report yesterday (.pdf) which analyzed and, in a mild though clear tone, decimated the legal theories advanced by the Administration to defend George Bush’s lawless eavesdropping.

Though lengthy and legalistic, the Report is well worth reading. Of particular note is its discussion of the history of eavesdropping abuses on U.S. citizens by the Executive Branch which necessitated the protections of FISA (page CRS 13); the Report’s destruction of the Administration’s claim that the AUMF (the Congressional resolution authorizing military force against Al Qaeda) can be read to have provided Bush an “exemption” from the mandates of FISA (CRS 32); and its emphatic rejection of the notion that a President can simply violate a Congressional law (rather than asking Congress to amend it) simply because the President views the law as undesirable for national security (CRS 41).

(2) Atrios has spent the last several days repeatedly asking if there are any Bush followers, anywhere, who can answer this question:

Can anyone – anywhere – explain, just a little bit – just one time – how “national security has been damaged” by revelations that the Administration was eavesdropping without FISA-required warrants and judicial oversight rather than with them?

One of the most devoted and loyal Bush followers, John at Powerline, has courageously stepped up to the plate, and attempted to provide an explanation as to how it can be said that disclosure of the illegality of the eavesdropping program “harmed national security.”

It’s the first such attempt (at least which I’ve seen) to answer this question. For reasons that I point out here on my blog, John’s explanation is not just astoundingly incoherent, but conclusively demonstrates that John — as I believe is the case for many Bush followers — does not have any idea what FISA says or what this scandal is actually about.

The utter emptiness of his response makes quite clear that the only thing “harmed” by disclosure of this illegal program is George Bush’s political interests, not American national security interests. The rage and “treason” accusations arising from this scandal rest on the borderline-religious belief that to criticize and undermine George Bush is the same as criticizing and harming the United States, and harming George Bush’s political interests — even by pointing out that he broke the law — is, therefore, by definition, to commit treason. That really is the premise of those who are defending George Bush in this scandal.